Adding a computer fan to my hood, need help w/ converter.

[David14259]

Hi guys.

I need to add a small fan to my hood and the key here is low cost and quiet! I found this fan for $5, which doesn't move a lot of air, but is quiet.

Fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811999071

Anyways, my problem is connecting this fan to power. What is the easiest and cheapest way to hook this up to a normal electrical outlet. I assume I need some sort of AC/DC converter.

The fan uses 12V and .14A.

Edit: This fan provides a little more airflow and uses 12V and .1A I believe.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811999602

Thanks,
David

 

[tecwzrd]

DIY step by step post should explain everything.

 

[David14259]

DIY step by step post should explain everything.

That's just what I needed! Thank you!!

 

[theotheragentm]

I don't know if it is the cheapest, and it may not be the prettiest either.

This can comes with a cable that would normally connect to a motherboard. There is also an IDE power adapter. This kind of plug comes from the power supply normally in a computer tower. They also come from external hard drive enclosures. If you were to buy a cheap hard drive enclosure, most of the time you can unscrew the pieces away from the actual case, giving you something that would convert it. On top of that, these enclosures normally come with their own tiny fan. It could add to the flow.

On a side note, I would tape up any bare metal pieces as I know from experience you will get shocked touching the bare terminals. It's quite invigorating actually.

 

[theotheragentm]

Yeah, that other link is going to be cheaper. I never thought of stripping wires out.

 

[tecwzrd]

If it was for a larger tank/canopy I'd recommend the IceCap 4 inch Fan instead which is more expensive but moves a LOT more air, is quite, temperature controlled, & comes with an easy plug in power source.

For your 12 gal though the computer fans should work fine.

Also I noticed from your other post that your tank is only getting up to 81 with the new 40W light which is really OK as long as it stays at that temp during the night also.

Even though around 77-78 is "recommend" fish/corals/inverts easily adapt to temperatures as high as 83 without any issues. It's quick fluctuations in temperature greater then 3 degrees in 12 hour periods that cause harm.

 

[tropicalfish]

80 mm is quite large....

Most light fixtures use 60 or 40 mm

 

[Ziggy953]

I have 3 fans on my canopy. 2 are 80mm an one is 120mm. The 2 80mm blow air down and into my canopy and the 120 pulls air out. Of course this is on a 4' tank with 570w of light too. So there is a lot of heat build up. I have the fans on a timer that comes on 30 minutes after the lights come on and goes off 30 minutes after the lights go off.

 

[Burks]

I'm working on doing two 60mm fans for my 192w PC fixture. Since the ballast will be remotely mounted, I'll just have one fan per bulb blowing across the bulbs to cool them.

Should work nicely. Very good link!